Chess words, in the order you need them
Start with the beginner words and you can follow a match. Each level builds on the one before.
Already know some? Search all 57 words and 33 rules
Words
- Board
- Pieces
- Rank and file
- White and Black
- Check
- Checkmate
- Stalemate
- Draw
- Capture
- Touch-move rule
- Resignation
- Draw offer
- Repetition and fifty-move rule
- Scoring
- Dead position
- King
- Queen
- Rook
- Bishop
- Knight
- Pawn
- Castling
- En passant
- Promotion
- Opening
- Middlegame
- Endgame
- Fork
- Pin
- Sacrifice
- Tempo
- Elo rating
- Grandmaster
- Time control
- Notation
- FIDE
- Chess clock
- Rapid and blitz
- Arbiter
- Flag fall
- Zugzwang
- Zwischenzug
- Outpost
- Passed pawn
- Weak square
- Overloading
- Development
- Gambit
- Pawn structure
- Isolated pawn
- Fianchetto
- Adjournment
- Time pressure
- Increment
- Swiss system
- Engine analysis
- Illegal move
Rules
- How do you set up a chessboard?
- How does each chess piece move?
- How does a pawn move in chess?
- How does castling work in chess?
- What is en passant in chess?
- What happens when a pawn reaches the other side of the board?
- What is check in chess?
- How do you win a game of chess?
- What is stalemate in chess?
- How do you offer a draw in chess?
- What is the threefold repetition rule in chess?
- What is the fifty-move rule in chess?
- How are chess games scored?
- If you touch a piece in chess, do you have to move it?
- How does a chess clock work?
- What happens if you make an illegal move in chess?
- Do you have to write down your moves in chess?
- What happens if a chess player is late for a game?
- Can you have a phone with you during a chess game?
- What does an arbiter do in chess?
- What is the difference between rapid, blitz and classical chess?
- What is Chess960?
- How do blind people play chess in tournaments?
- How does team chess work?
- Who plays on which board in team chess, and who gets White?
- How is a team chess match scored?
- How does a chess team choose who plays in each match?
- What happens if a chess team turns up short of players?
- What can a chess team captain do during a match?
- Can chess players agree a draw in a team match?
- How are ties broken in team chess?
- What medals are awarded at the Chess Olympiad?
- Who settles a dispute in a team chess match?